LIVE OAK, Texas – A simmering dispute between a Live Oak businessman and the city’s police department continues to escalate. Newly released body-worn camera footage showed a Live Oak police officer who made a series of false and inflammatory claims about the man and his business.
Damon Fogley, a disabled Army veteran, found himself in a Bexar County courtroom last month for the first time in his life.
He was arraigned on misdemeanor charges of criminal trespassing and resisting arrest, stemming from incidents at multiple Live Oak city buildings in October.
But the arrest came months after a different encounter: a June 19 tax seizure at Fogley’s business. He is the owner of Unchartered Adventures, an entertainment venue located in the 13900 block of Interstate 35 frontage road in Live Oak.
During that operation, a Live Oak police officer assigned to keeping the peace could be heard on his own body camera footage joking about receiving favors from state agents, using repeated profanity and making unsubstantiated allegations about Fogley and his company.
‘By the way, they’re definitely hiding money over here’
Agents from the Texas Comptroller’s Office arrived unannounced at Fogley’s business on June 19 to seize money and alcohol to offset around $50,000 in back taxes owed by Fogley.
Fogley, who opened the rage room and axe-throwing venue in 2023, told KSAT he had fallen behind on his monthly sales tax reports.
Live Oak PD officer Jacob Esquivel and Sgt. Cesar DeHoyos Jr. were assigned to help keep the peace during the seizure.
“Alright, so this means that you guys get to, like, give one favor out to the guys responding out here, right?” asked Esquivel while greeting the agents.
He then told them he needed an appointment at the tax assessor’s office.
An agent quickly pointed out that Esquivel was referring to the wrong agency.
Once inside, as agents collected cash from a safe and gathered up bottles of alcohol to be auctioned off, Esquivel repeatedly asked how he could go about acquiring the alcohol.
“Where do y’all hold alcohol auctions?” asked Esquivel, before an agent informed him that the auctions are held at the comptroller’s office.
“Huh. I’ll have to start looking,” Esquivel said. “So, I know I’m going to be looking at the comptroller’s office here in 20 days (laughs). Because something tells me he’s not going to be able to come out with $50,000.”
A spokesman for the Texas Comptroller’s Office confirmed to KSAT that Unchartered Adventures is now current on its taxes.
Esquivel’s camera captured him cursing repeatedly during the seizure and making multiple false claims.
“By the way, they’re definitely hiding money over here,” Esquivel said.
“Oh, yeah,” DeHoyos replied.
“They’ll have like card tournaments and s--- here. So, you know they’re doing poker,” Esquivel said. “And you know they’re f---ing skimming on top of that, too.”
“There’s probably so many bottles because they were stocking up for that party that got shot up,” Esquivel continued, who then referred to it as a high school party.
Fogley said Esquivel was referencing an incident in early June in which a person was shot in the leg in the business’ parking lot.
Esquivel’s incident report from the June 19 tax seizure states he personally reported the establishment to the Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission (TABC) “for possibly selling to minors.”
Fogley said his establishment has never served alcohol to minors.
The TABC confirmed to KSAT it opened an investigation into Unchartered Adventures after the June incident.
“A TABC investigation did not find evidence of a violation on the part of the business in connection with that event and the investigation was suspended in September of this year,” TABC Director of Communications Chris Porter confirmed to KSAT via email.
“Here I am, as an innocent person, being subjected to this by a police officer, who I feel is someone who is supposed to have high levels of integrity and high levels of standards,” said Fogley, who was not at work during the tax seizure.
He said he requested the body-worn camera footage of both officers this summer after a manager on site during the seizure overheard Esquivel joking that he was going to buy bottles of booze seized from the business.
Esquivel’s footage also captured the officer criticizing Bexar County District Attorney Joe Gonzales.
An employee told Esquivel she just moved to San Antonio, and it seemed like police officers in the area “have y’all’s hands tied with, like, a lot of stuff.”
“Yep. Hopefully, that changes here soon because the DA is not going for reelection,” Esquivel responded. “And, hopefully then, we can start putting people that like to break into cars and rob people, kill people and actually keep them in jail.”
Business feud turns into arrest
Fogley told KSAT after his arraignment last month that opening Unchartered Adventures required significant investment and compliance with multiple city-driven requirements — including hiring an architect — long before any tax issues arose.
“Very apathetic to my needs as a business,” Fogley said. “This city goes out and says that they’re business-friendly, but then my personal experience indicates otherwise.”
Live Oak police told KSAT that Fogley showed up at the city’s municipal building complex three times within a week in October and was seen wandering in a restricted area, acting suspiciously and was even carrying a broom during one of the incidents.
Fogley was eventually arrested on misdemeanor charges for criminal trespassing and resisting arrest.
Fogley told KSAT he made several attempts to file an ethics complaint against a city official and was checking areas to see if city administration was purposely avoiding him.
During Fogley’s arraignment on Nov. 6, Judge Melissa Saenz admonished him for attempting to contact her via email and social media before the hearing.
“This is my first time in any type of criminal proceeding, so trying to navigate all this has been very challenging and difficult for me,” Fogley told KSAT after his court appearance.
Fogley’s next court appearance is scheduled for Dec. 17.
Live Oak PD chief confirms internal affairs investigation
Live Oak Police Chief Michael Fratus declined an interview with KSAT for this story.
In a written statement, he confirmed that internal affairs is investigating the comments made between the two officers on June 19 and will determine whether internal action is warranted once the investigation is complete.
Esquivel was hired by Live Oak police in March 2024, his personnel file shows.
Read more reporting on the KSAT Investigates page.